Snow and ketchup?
by knittingeek
Summary: An indoor snow day at the Castle's.


_**This is for pilgrim81 who reviewed my story 'Sweet Snow' and wondered where Josie was. Here she is.**_

_**I do not own Castle. Calvin and Hobbes belong to Bill Watterson. **_

"Come on Sissy, you have to help us, we need one more person."

"Josie, no, I need sleep. Go ask Mom."

Josie was standing over Alexis with her hands on her hips, in her neon pink snowsuit with a mass of tangled curls peeking out from underneath a bright orange hat. Alexis thought she looked just a little too enthusiastic for seven in the morning.

"Seriously? Sissy you know she won't let us do it."

"Dad put you up to this didn't he?"

"Yes. He said if I could get you to help then we could do it."

"Just use two."

"Nooooooo, it's not enough. You _hafta_ help us."

"You are sooooo going to pay for this you know?"

Josie pumped her fist in the air and shouted "YES!" She pulled her sister's arms and literally dragged her out of bed. "Come on let's go _now_."

"Josie, I need to take a shower and get dressed."

"Nonononono you don't." She continued to pull Alexis out of the room and down the stairs. "Just put on your coat and a hat and no one will notice your crumply hair. Trust me Sissy, I do it _ALL_ the time."

Their father was standing at the bottom of the stairs in a ski parka, hat and boots with three oversized coolers on wheels at the door ready to go.

Alexis glared at him. "We always managed this with two people."

"I can't imagine doing this without you, come on we'll have fun. I even made you some hot mocha with lots of whipped cream." He handed her a to-go mug.

She smirked at him, took the mug and sat on the bottom step while Josie pulled her hat over her head and stuffed her feet into her boots, her father took her hand and pulled her up and helped her into her coat.

Josie tugged on her own boots then put on her mittens.

Rick looked at his girls and smiled. "Are we ready?"

Josie grabbed the handle of her cooler and pushed her father towards the door. "YesYesYes, let's go before Mommy wakes up."

Alexis rolled her eyes and took her cooler handle from her father and they made their way to the elevator.

Kate woke up to an empty bed and a quiet house. This didn't happen often so she basked in the peace. She made her way downstairs and enjoyed a cup of coffee and the paper in front of the fire. It had been snowing for the last three days and all of them cooped up in the loft had been getting to her. The city had come to a standstill and Josie was going stir crazy. She assumed Rick had taken her out for breakfast and that Alexis was upstairs catching up on some much needed sleep. She refilled her coffee mug and grabbed a few magazines from the coffee table and decided to take a bath. She filled the tub in the master bath and used some of the exotic bath crystals Alexis had given her for Christmas, she turned on some relaxing music and lit a few candles and climbed into the tub with her magazines and enjoyed the few moments of peace that she knew wouldn't last much longer.

After soaking for a few minutes she turned on the jets to the tub and let the pulsating blasts massage her sore, tired limbs. She never heard the trio trudge up the stairs with their coolers and into the guest bathroom. Earlier when Rick had gone down to storage to retrieve the coolers he had also dug out the portable air conditioner and hooked it up in the bathroom so the room would be nice and cold upon their return. Alexis left them to their plans and went back downstairs for a much needed cup of coffee.

Kate found Alexis at the bar in the kitchen still donning her winter hat and her hands wrapped around a mug.

"Hey, Alexis."

"Hey, Kate."

"What's with the hat? Are you coming down with something?"

"No, I was dragged out of bed_ and_ outside at an ungodly hour this morning."

"Oh, I wondered where everyone was." She poured herself another cup of coffee and sat at the bar with Alexis. "So where are they now?"

Alexis pointed towards the stairs.

"Do I even want to know what they are doing?"

"No, you don't, but I'm sure you'll find out sooner or later."

"Oh, great."

Just then Josie came barreling down the stairs flew into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator and pulled something out and sneaked past Kate, she started back for the stairs when Kate stopped her.

"Josie, what are you doin'?"

She stopped halfway up the stairs, hiding something behind her back. "Getting something for Daddy."

"What kind of something?"

She quietly mumbled something.

"Excuse me?"

She spoke a little clearer this time. "Ketchup."

"Did you say _ketchup_?"

Josie nodded her head.

"Why does your father need ketchup?"

Josie bit her bottom lip and put her hand on her hip and said to her mother, "Mommy are you interrygating me? Cuz I think I get to have a lawyer, right?"

Alexis burst out laughing. In the time it took Kate to look over at Alexis and back to the stairs Josie was gone.

"Oh my Gosh Kate, she is sooooo your daughter."

"Alexis what is going on?"

"Think _Calvin and Hobbes_, Kate."

"What?"

"You know, the comic strip?"

Kate's face was blank."

"Seriously Kate you don't know _Calvin and Hobbes_?"

"Is that the one with the little boy who thinks his tiger is real?"

"Yes."

Kate raked her hand through her hair. "I'm sorry Alexis you're going to have to enlighten me, I don't get it. Where did you guys go this morning and what did you do?"

Alexis stood up from the bar and put her mug in the dishwasher and said, "Kate, I'm pleading the fifth on this one."

"Okay at least tell me this, do I want to go up there or should I just go to the precinct for the afternoon?"

"Oh, you should definitely go upstairs and check it out."

Reluctantly Kate ascended the stairs and stopped when she got to the landing. There outside the bathroom door were three oversized coolers dripping wet; a Batman beach towel underneath them. Taped across the bathroom door was bright yellow and black crime scene tape. Kate took a deep breath and took her hand and pinched the bridge of her nose. She had really hoped that this might be the year that he would grow up just a little. She debated whether or not to go in, but decided three could play this game. She reached into her back pocket and pulled out her badge and started banging on the door and screaming "NYPD OPEN UP!"

Dead silence.

Then she heard the door handle turn and very slowly the door opened and a blast of frigid cold air hit her in the face. And there in the bathtub was the crime scene to beat all crime scenes.

She pulled up the tape and walked into the bathroom "Castle, what the he….." She looked at the mess; her eyes opened wide, a shocked look on her face. Josie was standing in the tub in her snowsuit and boots with a decapitated snowman, and another snowman with a hairbrush impaled through its gut. Facial expressions were made out of various hair and bathroom items and of course there was blood or rather ketchup…..everywhere.

Rick was staring at her. He pointed to his daughter. "It was her idea."

Josie looked at her father then at her mother. "Isn't it great Mommy? Does it look real? Did it scare you? It's just like in the _Calvin and Hobbes _book. Isn't Daddy the best?"

"Yeah. Best. Dad. Ever. That's what my Christmas card said, right Josie?"

"That's right Daddy."

She stood there stunned. She looked back at her husband. "I think you are just a little bit sick and twisted."

He gave her a sheepish smile. "Well at least it's only a little bit, right?"

Alexis popped her head in and peeked around Kate. "Way to go Dad, she won't need therapy after this."

Kate let out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding in. "Why can't you just read her _Ramona the Pest _or _Charlie and the Chocolate Factory_ like a normal parent?"

"Kate, normal is boring." He stood up and cautiously walked over to her. "She will remember this all her life."

"Oh, I have no doubts at all about that."

He slowly pushed her out the door and Alexis made her way in and closed the door behind her. They could hear the girls giggling.

He pulled off his hat and placed his hands on her waist. "Did you like sleeping in this morning?"

"You're pathetic you know that?"

"Yes, yes I do." He leaned in and placed a soft kiss on her neck and then on her jaw and nibbled on her earlobe, caressing her waist as his lips finally made their way to hers. Bringing his hands up to her face he kissed her again making her forget about all the reasons she wanted to use her gun on him. He pulled back and said. "You do know she'll play in there for hours? There was a method to my madness."

She shook her head and rolled her eyes at him. She kissed him and wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into a hug. It was just another day in her insane life with the Castles and she wouldn't dream of trading it in for anything even close to normal.

_**When I looked out my window this morning there was a decapitated snowman in the yard with an axe beside it and an insane amount of blood…er…ketchup gushing from its wounds. If you've never seen the Calvin and Hobbes snowman comic strips you should google them. They are pretty funny. **_

_**Hope you all have a very Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year. Hugs and thanks again for reading my silly little stories. **_


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